Beverly Hills Mayor John Mirisch will run for office again

John Mirisch, the Beverly Hills mayor who presided over one of the most heated development disputes in his city’s history, will run for a third term, he told The Real Deal.

“Yes, I’m going to run for another term,” he said in a recent interview. “In my opinion, I have a unique voice that represents a lot of the residents of Beverly Hills that needs to be heard and is not necessarily reflected by other candidates.”

Mirisch was first elected to the Beverly Hills City Council in 2009 and then again in 2013, when he served his first year-long stint as mayor. He was deputy mayor in 2015.

He was sworn in most recently in February and plans to submit the paperwork to run for another term by the end of this week.

Per Beverly Hills law, five City Council members are elected to four-year terms, while the mayor and vice-mayor are elected each year by those Council members. The mayor typically serves as a spokesperson for the council and presides over its meetings.

It’s primarily a “ceremonial position,” since decisions are usually weighed by the whole council, Mirisch said.

During his most recent term, Mirisch, a fourth generation resident of Beverly Hills, fought hard against Israeli American entrepreneur Beny Alagem’s attempt get voters to approve a 375-foot condo tower next to the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The ballot measure, which combined two previously approved condominium projects into one taller building, was ultimately shot down. Mirisch criticized the move to circumvent the city’s planning process by putting the project up for a vote.

Meanwhile, the mayor did not publicly criticize a competing development by Chinese giant Wanda next door. Indeed, he helped negotiate a development agreement between the city and the developer for its $1.2 billion development. Rumors circulated that Mirisch was too close with Wanda, but he has denied those allegations.

Before going into politics, Mirisch worked as film executive in marketing and distribution in Europe, eventually becoming a Swedish citizen.